There are many ways to enjoy Rehoboth Beach. One of my choices was to run the marathon distance at the Coastal Delaware Running Festival. This race is my longest years running deferral. It began with a simple necessary deferral several years back, followed by race cancellation due to the pandemic, followed by a rescheduled date that didn’t work for me.
After three or four years of looking forward to this race, here I was. We stayed at the Breakers, only a couple blocks from the boardwalk and adjacent to the Convention Center where I picked up my packet
This year’s weekend of races included a 5K, a 9-Kilometer, a 1/2 Marathon and the full Marathon.
Race morning on Sunday began with a picture perfect sunrise on the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk.
With 57 degrees, a light breeze, and a 7 a.m. start, we were off. This was a nice size marathon, enough runners that I had company but not so many that I was elbow to elbow with others.
We began making our way through Rehoboth neighborhoods, then out to a dune area. The first half has some of the most beautiful scenery I have experienced in a marathon. It was primarily shaded, and quiet with an occasional seabird calling.
The second half took us out toward the town of Lewes and back. By now we had experienced a variety of running surfaces including boardwalk, tarmac, sandy and cinder-covered paths.
There was less shade along the road as we returned to Rehoboth, and temperatures had climbed to 77 degrees. Even with the frequent water stops along the course, I could tell I was becoming dehydrated.
At around Mile 24, I tripped making a turn. I was up in a minute with only a bit of a skinned knee, but decided to go to a walk/run for the remainder of the race.
I will spare you the finish line photo, It wasn’t pretty. I did make my goal of finishing under five hours, with a time of 4:57:36.
Grotto Pizza on the boardwalk sponsored post-race food for runners. I opted out of the post-race party, taking a moment to chat with a couple of running friends, then enjoying a bench along the boardwalk with a dish of ice cream.
Our hotel was just a short couple of blocks from the boardwalk and I was ready for a shower and a brief nap.
Did I mention earlier there are many ways to enjoy Rehoboth Beach? So my second preference was great food. I eat very light the day before a marathon and so looked forward to a fantastic dinner. We found it just down the street from out hotel. It’s called Bodhi. It will be moving to a new location on 1st Street in a few weeks and in the meantime is serving tasting menus with a decided Asian flair and based on dishes they will be serving at their new location.
A scenic race course, sea air, and a dinner to enliven the taste buds. So ends a satisfying day.
We made a leisurely departure Monday morning and took a scenic route home while tracking friends running the Boston Marathon.
And how was your weekend? Did you get out in the beautiful Spring air?
Still a Runner 
Great Job! And perfect temperature and starting time.
Thanks, Suz. Chaque marathon m’append quelque chose.